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(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 1.

J. N. SMITH.

GAR AXLE BOX,

No. 253,488. l

Patented Feb. 7,1882.

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y J. N. SMITH.. I GAR AXLE B0X. No. 258,488. Patend Feb. 7,1882.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH N. SMITH, NEW YORK, N. Y.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 253,438, dated February 7,1882.

Application filed November 1, 1881. (No model.)

specification.

My present invention relates to improvements adapted in part to all kinds of axleboxes, but most particularly to that class knownas self-Oilers, wherein a vibratory pump, to be actuated by the jolting or movement of the cars, is employed to raise the oil from a reservoir in the housing and deliver it into the axle- 1 5 journal.

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This kind of axle-boxis shown and described in former patents of mine.

The novel features of my present invention will be fully described hereinafter and fully defined in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal vertical mid-section of my improved axle-box. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2 2in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detached sectional view, adapted to illustrate the mode of opening and closing theV box. Fig. 4 is a plan View of the stopping-bar and a cross-section ot the oil pump, taken on the line 4 4 inFig. 3. Fig. 5 is a viewot' the under side of the bearingcap. Fig. 6 is a plan of the dust-excluding half-collar.

My box may be adapted to trucks of special or ordinary `forms; but I have herein shown it asadapted. to a pedestal-truck.

A is the housing of the box, and B is the saddle mounted thereon, and-provided with a ballfand-,socket support ot' the usual kind.

. The saddle is rounded or convex on its top to receive the end of the truck-spring C, (shown in Figs. 1 and 2,) the said rounded seat being recessed between -raised guards a. a. The spring is held in place by means of a clip, D, which has curved ends that take under lianges b b on the guards a a. A screw, c, prevents the clip from joltin g off or becoming displaced byany means. .The anges b are short, and in placing Athe clip it is only necessary to seat the latter on the saddle-guards at one side of small flanges b and move it laterally until it engagesthesame. .By this arrangement of thesaddleand truclcspring-that-is to say,

with the four ends of the two truck-springs 'resting upon the vfour convex saddles-the saddle is permitted to play properly under the end ot' the spring without undue grinding and friction. When the truck is lifted for the removal of the boxes from their pedestals the clip or stirrup D prevents the saddles from being removed with the boxes.

E is a dust-excluding half-collar, mounted at the back of the housing, being provided with 6o suitable keepers, which permit it to play up and down under the axle-journal F to a limited but sufficient extent. It has a. lip, d, which projects into the housing under the journal, and a spring, e, arranged under said collar keeps the same pressed normally up against the journal lduring all the movements and fluctuations of the latter. The lip d serves in some degree to prevent the oil in the well Gr from being forced out at the back of theohous- 7o ,ing around the journal, and it has obliquelycut edges ff, (see Figs. l, 2, and 6,) which serve to scrape the surplus oil from the journal at the back of the box and allow it toiiow back into the well. 75

H is a thin washer-plate, which lits into a recess in a dust-excluding slide or cap, I, that slips down in keepers at the back of the housing and rests on the same when seated. The cap I does not descend when the collar E is 8o pressed down; but the washer-plate H rests upon the collar E and the axle-journal and descends with them, thus preventing the play ot the journal from leaving an opening above it, through which dust may enter the box or 8 5 oil escape therefrom.

J is the bearing-cap which slides into the upper part ot' the housing, resting on bearings in the same. The back or inner end of the bearing-cap is provided with a stud or projec- 9o tion, g, which takes over a suitable provision on the slide or cap I, (see Fig. 1,) and prevents the latter from rising while the bearing-cap is in place.

,I make the bearing by preference wholly ot' 95 anti-friction metal, and form within it an oilchannel, h, which connects an oil-recess, h', in the top of the cap, at its outer end, with the inner end of a serpentine-channel, h2, in the under side or face of the cap, next the journal. roo

This channel opens into an enlarged recess or cavity, h3, in the cap, in which the button i of the journal plays. By this means I am enabled to deliver the oil which falls into the recess h from the pump to the inner end of the bearing, whence it flows back through the serpentine groove or channel hz'to the front. This form ot' channel compels the oil to return to the front and to traverse a considerable portion of the surface of the journal in doing so, whereby the best lubricating results are attained, and when the journal is at rest this serpentine groove forms pockets to retain the oil on the journal and prevent it from dripping back into the well.

teferring to Figs. 1, 3, and 4, K is a stoppingbar, which is provided with a detachable face-plate, j, to'recei-ve the wear and blows from the axle-button i. ln formerly patented constructions this plate, which is the onlypart sub'i ject to wear, was formed in one piece with the stoppingbar, and when it became wornor injured the entire bar had to be renewed. In my present construction it is only necessary to remove and renew the plate, which is a-sinrple and inexpensive matter.

The stopping-bar is made to embrace the body of the oil-purnp chamber L at a point where the latter is reduced,v (see section in-v grooved at 7c k to engage keepers or ribs'l Zin a recess'in the door M of the box. Ribs m onv both the stopping-bar K and chamber LA take first sliding the latter two longitudinally out' fromV the former, and then. separati-ng the two latter by a lateral movement, as indicated in Fig. 4.

The chamber L is held in' place in the door M and the door in place on the housing A by the following-described mechanism.

On the back of the chamber L are i-Xed at their upper ends two leaf-springs, n and o, the former ot' which is longer than the latter, and on the inner face ofthe door M is formed a shoulder, p. When the chamber Lis slid into the grooved recess in theinner face of the door to the proper dista-nce the free end ot' the spring o wipes over the shoulder p and restsl behind it. This prevents the chamber from being drawn out until the spring o is released from vthe catch or shoulder again by means of a slender pin or wire which is inserted through an orifice, q, in the door.

The above-described position of the parts is shown in Fig. 3.

Around the lower edge ot' the door in is a flange, r, which is arranged to take over the margin s of the housing A when the door is in place, and said door is also provided at its upper front edge with a depending flange, r', ar ranged to takeover the margin s ofthe housing at that point. A beveled lip, r2, on the lower edge of the door M, also engages a correspondingly-beveled inner face on the housing when the door is in place.

Referring now to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the pump-chamber L and the stopping-bar K,

attached thereto, have been slipped into their.

seat in the door M far enough to cause the springoto engage the shoulder p and hold them in place. The chamber is now passed into the housing and pushed forward or inward until its curved upper portion, t, takes under the correspondingly curved or shaped portion a of the roof of the housing, when the parts will appear in the position illustrated in Fig. 3. The door now stands raised above its seat on the housing, and may be pressed down into place. The parts will then assume the positiony shown in Fig. l-that is to say,the flange r will have engaged the ange s' and the anges r r2 will have engaged and embraced the margin of the housing at s. The longer springm will have wiped over and engaged behind the shoulder p on the door M,v and the latter will be firmly locked in place, for the reason that the door cannot be removed with- 'out first bein-g raised a little, and the spring n prevents it beingv lifted independently of the pump-chamber, and the latter cannot be lifted 4 by reason of its upper portion, t, restingagainst and under the portion u of the housing. Fig. 4,) and the embracing-jaws of the bar are 1 The door and o il-pump may be' removed toi gether by pressing back the spring n until it clears the shoulder on the door,as will be readl. ily understood'. Thelaterally-projecting win gs o i; of the platej on the stopping-bar rest `against the end of the bearing-cap J andthe projecting, portion t of the pump-chamber against a' raised rim, w, on the cap, asl clearly shownin Figs. 1 and 3. This ed'ectually prevents thebearing-cap from working out, and

it in turn keeps the cap or slide I in place.

VTh-us it will be seen that no bolts or screws are employed to'keep the several parts in place,

only the springs n and o being required.

The novel features ofthe oil-pump relate. to the construction of the valve-chambers. The

4hollow or tubular plunger N vibrates in the usual way, and a cup, w, containing the inner valve, is screwed onto its lower end. This cup plays in a recess or enlargement in the lower end of the pump-chamber, and its upper edge takes against the shoulder formed by said cnlargement, which limits the lift of the plunger.

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Another cup, y, containing the outer valve, is

made to slip onto and tit tightly the cylindrical shouldered extremity of the pump-chamber L, where it is heldin place by a flange, z, on the lower end of the stopping-bar K, which takes under the bottom of the cup y or engages a rab- .bet or groove formed in it, as shown. This-construction is much simpler than that usually employed in this class of pumps, and avoids the necessity of employing screws or ext-raneous contrivances for securing the lower or outer valve chamber in place. The two cup -like chambers x and y have apertures in their bottoms, which are controlled by the valves in the usual way. I would refer to my several patents for axle-boxes, dated September 26,1876,

and February 25, 1879, and numbered respectively 182,609 and 212,756, as showing some of the features referred to but not claimed in my present application.

I Wish it understood that I do not confine myself to the precise construction and arrangement of the parts as herein described, as some -1o variation therein may be made without departing from my invention-as, for example, the stopping-bar may in some cases be formed iu one with the pump-chamber, or the spring o may in some cases be omitted, and other means,

I5 if desired, be employed to retain the pump in its keepers in the door. The stud g on the bearing-cap might also be arranged to enter a recess in the slide I. Other minor departures 4of this character will readily suggest them- 2o selves to the maker or user of the box.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. A detached saddle for an axle-box, having a rounded or convexV seat for the spring and a socket .to rest upon a ball ou the top'of the housing, whereby perfect freedom of movementwithout friction is attained, substantially as set forth.

2.V The saddle provided with a rounded seat 3o for the spring, arranged between raised guardflanges, which have short laterally-projecting flanges to receive the clip, in combination with the said clip arranged to engage the lateral flanges, substantially as shown.

3. The combination, with the' housing and the bearing-cap, of the slide or cap I, the washercollar H, and the half-collar E, provided with oblique scraping-edgesff and a supportingspring, e, all constructed and arranged substantially as set forth.

4. The bearingcap provided with the serpentine oil-channel in its concave face, said channel being arranged to receive oil from the pump at the inner end of the bearing, as set forth.

5o 6. Thevcombinatiomwith the housing, of the slide I, arranged to engage and rest upon the inner end of said housing, and the bearing-cap provided with bearin gs in the housing and with a projection to engage a recess in the said slide I,substantially as herein shown, and

for the purposes set forth.

7. The oil-pump arranged to slide into a recess in the door of the box, and provided with a spring at its back to engage agshoulder ou 6o the said door, in combination with a door pro vided with a recess to receive the pump, a shoulder to en gage the spring on the same, and an aperture near said shoulder, through which engage the spring on the pump, and an aperture through which the disengagement ofthe spring is effected, and the oil-pump provided with a projecting part to take under the roof of the housing, and aspring on its back to engage a shoulder on the door, all arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

9. The combination of the housing provided with margins or marginal flanges s s', the door provided with marginal tlanges r r r2, with a shoulder, p, and aperture g, the oil-pump provided with springs o and n of unequal length, and a projecting part, t, to take under the root' of the housing, and the stopping-bar arranged to be attach ed to and detached from the pump, all arranged to operate substantially as setforth.

l0. 'Ihe combination, with the housing and the door of the box, of the stoppingbar arranged to embrace the pump and to slide in keepers on the door, the said pump, and the plate j, attached removably to the stoppingbar, all constructed and arranged to operate substantially as set forth.

11. The combination, with the pump-chamber and the outer valve-chamber, arranged to slip over its lower end, of the stopping-bar made to embrace the body ofthe pump-chamber, and provided with a liange to take under a projecting portion of thc valve-chamber and ,roo

prevent it from escaping, substantially7 as set forth.

12. The combination of the following coactivc elcments,namely: the housing, the bearing-cap provided with a projection,g, the slide I, having a provision to engage the projection g, theoil-pump, the stopping-bar connected with the pump, and the door M, all provided, constructed, and arranged to operate substan tially as and for the purposes set forth.

13. The combination, with the housing having a ball-support for the saddle, of the saddle B, provided with a socket to rest on the said IIO 

